The cards consist of a deck of 78 curiously emblazoned cards of uncertain origin and date. The deck is divided into two general sections, of which the larger contains 56 cards - termed the MINOR trumps - and the smaller, 22 cards - termed the MAJOR trumps. The minor trumps are further divided into four suits - each containing 14 cards - somewhat similar to those of the modern playing cards. The four suits are called Rods (clubs), Swords (spades), Cups (hearts) and Coins (diamonds). The pip (or numbered) cards of each suit ascend from the ace to the 10, and their denominations are shown by groups of their respective emblems, as are modern cards. The court cards (or picture) of each suit are 4 in number, termed King, Queen, Knight and Page. The kings and Queens are usually depicted seated, the Knights on horseback, and the Pages standing. Each holds the emblem of its suit.

The Major trumps are also divided into two sections, one of which is composed of 21 cards, usually numbered, and the other single card, either numbered or marked with a cipher. The accepted order of the 21 cards with their names is as follows (1) the JUGGLER, (2) the HIGH PRIESTESS or FEMALE POPE, (3) the EMPRESS, (4) the EMPEROR, (5) the POPE, (6) the LOVERS or MARRIAGE, (7) the CHARIOT, (8) JUSTICE, (9) the HERMIT, (10) the WHEEL OF FORTUNE, (11) STRENGTH, (12) the HANGED MAN, (13) DEATH, (14) TEMERANCE, (15) the DEVIL, (16) the FIRE FROM HEAVEN or the TOWER, (17) the STARS, (18) the MOON, (19) the SUN, (20) the JUDGMENT, (21) the WORLD. The unnumbered card upon which the others are spread is designated the fool and has the number O.

Opinions of authorities differ widely concerning the origin of playing cards, the purpose for which they were intended, and the time of their introduction into Europe.

In his Researches into the History of Playing Cards, Samuel Weller Singer advances the opinion that cards reached Southern Europe from India by way of Arabia. It is probable that the Tarot cards were part of the magical and philosophical lore secured by the Knights Templars from the Saracens or one of the mystical sects then flourishing in Syria. Returning to Europe, the Templars, to avoid persecution, concealed the arcane meaning of the symbols by introducing the leaves of their magical book ostensibly as a device for amusement and gambling. In support of this contention, Mrs. John King Van Rensselaer states:

"That cards were brought by the home-returning warriors, who imported many of the newly acquired customs and habits of the Orient to their own countries, seems to be a well-established fact; and it does not contradict the statement made by some writers who declared that the gypsies-who about that time began to wander over Europe-brought with them and introduced cards, which they used, as they do at the present day, for divining the future. "

Through the Gypsies the Tarot cards may be traced back to the religious symbolism of the ancient Egyptians. In his remarkable work, 'The gypsies', Samuel Roberts presents ample proof of their Egyptian origin. In one place he writes: "When Gypsies originally arrived in England is very uncertain. They are first noticed in our laws, by several statutes against them in the Reign of Henry VIII, in which they are described as 'an outlandish people, calling themselves Egyptians,-who do not profess any craft or trade, but go about in great numbers,

A curious legend relates that after the destruction of the Scrapeum in Alexandria, the large body of attendant priests banded themselves together to preserve the secrets of the rites of Serapis. Their descendants (Gypsies) carrying with them the most precious of the volumes saved from the burning library the Book of Enoch, or Thoth (the Tarot) became wanderers upon the face of the earth, remaining a people apart with an ancient language and a birthright of magic and mystery.

Court de Gebelin believed the word Tarot itself to be derived from two Egyptian words, Tar, meaning "road, " and Ro, meaning "royal. " Thus the Tarot constitutes the royal road to wisdom. In his History of Magic, P. Christian, the mouthpiece of a certain French secret society, presents a fantastic account of a purported initiation into the Egyptian Mysteries wherein the 22 major Tarots assume the proportions of trestle boards of immense size and line a great gallery. Stopping before each card in turn, the initiator described its symbolism to the candidate. Edouard Schure, whose source of information was similar to that of Christian's, hints at the same ceremony in his chapter on initiation into the Hermetic Mysteries. While the Egyptians may well have employed the Tarot cards in their rituals, these French mystics present no evidence other than their own assertions to support this theory. The validity also of the so-called Egyptian Tarots now in circulation has never been satisfactorily established. The drawings are not only quite modern but the symbolism itself savors of French rather than Egyptian influence.

The Tarot is undoubtedly a vital element in Rosicrucian symbolism, possibly the very book of universal knowledge which the members of the order claimed to possess. The Rota Mundi is a term frequently occurring in the early manifestoes of the Fraternity of the Rose Cross. The word Rota by a rearrangement of its letters becomes Taro, the ancient name of these mysterious cards. W.F.C.Wigston has discovered evidence that Sir Francis Bacon employed the Tarot symbolism in his ciphers. The numbers 21, 56, and 78, which are all directly related to the divisions of the Tarot deck, are frequently involved in Bacon's cryptograms. In the great Shakespearian Folio of 1623 the Christian name of Lord Bacon appears 21 times on page 56 of the Histories.

Many symbols appearing upon the Tarot cards have definite Masonic interest. The Pythagorean numerologist will also find an important relationship to exist between the numbers on the cards and the designs accompanying the numbers. The Qabbalist will be immediately impressed by the significant sequence of the cards, and the alchemist will discover certain emblems meaningless save to one versed in the divine chemistry of transmutation and regeneration. As the Greeks placed the letters of their alphabet-with their corresponding numbers-upon the various parts of the body of their humanly represented Logos, so the Tarot cards have an analogy not only in the parts and members of the universe but also in the divisions of the human body. They are in fact the key to the magical constitution of man.

Most writers on the Tarot (Mr Waite a notable exception) have proceeded upon the hypothesis that the 22 major trumps represent the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This supposition is based upon nothing more substantial than the coincidence that both consist of 22 parts. That Postel, St. Martin, and Levi all wrote books divided into sections corresponding to the major Tarots is an interesting sidelight on the subject. The major trump cards portray incidents from the Book of Revelation; and the Apocalypse of St. John is also divided into 22 chapters. Assuming the Qabbalah to hold the solution to the Tarot riddle, seekers have often ignored other possible lines of research. The task, however, of discovering the proper relationship sustained by the Tarot trumps to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet and the Paths of Wisdom thus far has not met with any great measure of success.

Modern playing cards are the minor trumps of the Tarot, from each suit of which the page, or valet, has been eliminated, leaving 13 cards. Even in its abridged form, however, the modern deck is of profound symbolic importance, for irs arrangement is apparently in accord with the divisions of the year.

The two colors, red and black, represent the two grand divisions of the year that during which the sun is north of the equator and that during which it is south of the equator.
The four suits represent the seasons, the ages of the ancient Greeks, and the Yugas of the Hindus.
The twelve court cards are the signs of the zodiac arranged in triads of a Father, a Power, and a Mind according to the upper section of the Bembine Table.
The ten pip cards of each suit represent the Sephirothic trees existing in each of the four worlds (the suits).
The 13 cards of each suit are the 13 lunar months in each year.
The 52 cards of the deck are the 52 weeks in the year.
Counting the number of pips and reckoning the jacks, queens, and kings as 11, 12, and 13 respectively, the sum for the 52 cards is 364. If the joker be considered as one point, the result is 365, or the number of days in the year.

Milton Pottenger believed that the United States of America was laid out according to the conventional deck of playing cards, and that the government will ultimately consist of 52 States administered by a 53rd non-denominated division, the District of Columbia.

The court cards contain a number of important Masonic symbols. Nine are full face and three are profile. Here is the broken "Wheel of the Law, signifying the nine months of the prenatal epoch and the three degrees of spiritual enfoldment necessary to produce the perfect man. The four armed kings are the Egyptian Ammonian Architects who gouged out the universe with knives. They are also the cardinal signs of the zodiac. The four queens, carrying eight-petaled flowers symbolic of the Christ, are the fixed signs of the zodiac. The four jacks, two of whom bear acacia sprigs -the jack of hearts in his hand, the jack of clubs in his hat-are the four common signs of the zodiac. It should be noted also that the court cards of the spade suit will not look upon the pip in the corner of the card but face away from it as though fearing this emblem of death. The Grand Master of the Order of the Cards is the king of clubs, who carries the orb as emblematic of his dignity.